Career advice for savvy 21st-century nurses from holistic career coach Nurse Keith

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Among the Living

Yes, dear Readers, I am still among the living.....er, blogging, as it were. This last week has been a storm of busy-ness, my time to write completely precluded by...now, what was it called? Oh yes, life. Yes that's it, life got in the way of this other very important aspect of life which is near and dear to my heart. This blogging business is certainly addictive and tonight my "blogging jones" must be satisfied, at least desultorily.

Blessedly, last weekend was not overridden by work and chores. Rather, it was filled to overflowing with the celebration of Mary's birthday which happens to fall on September 11th. We have spent the last four years striving to reclaim her birthday which seemed to be usurped by the 2001 event which cast a long shadow over anyone wanting to use that day for celebratory purposes. Needless to say, we spent the better part of the weekend celebrating in the appropriate manner.

On the homefront, we are having our somewhat finished basmement almost completely finished, with a small kitchen and new floors and windows, in hopes of renting the space to a lucky grad student or young couple who do not mind living in a very dry basement with two windows. That process has taken a great deal of our time and energy. While we are not doing the construction ourselves, anyone who has had construction done in their home at any time understands the disruption that it can cause to one's accustomed living patterns, not to mention the process of seeking out, and interviewing, potential tenants. More on that, perhaps, at a later date.

School is back in session and I just completed evening #2 of lecture in the LPN course which I am teaching for the 2nd year in a row. One of my greatest challenges is learning my 24 students' names, as well as the fact that I teach from 5:30-9:30pm after working an intense 8-hour day. Having taught the class last year, my prep time is thankfully less taxing this time around, but I still spend a fair amount of time at home in preparation. Is it worth it? Maybe I could make better money elsewhere, but the act of teaching is an exciting process which I do sincerely enjoy.

My work soars along at sonic speeds. The gentleman with stomach cancer of whom I recently wrote is failing fast, and I helped to get him directly admitted into the hospital on Tuesday when I visited him at home and he was obviously dehydrated. I was sharing with my students this evening that, when visiting a patient at home as an autonomous nurse, there are many judgement calls which I must make which do give me pause. I have luckily never made a decision that ended in a premature death, but I always know that my license and my conscience are both on the line when a patient's life is at stake. It can be a scary thought which often informs our decisions as healthcare professionals.

Aside from that, my life has been a piece of cake with not much to blog home about. I just had to post something tonight and say hello to whomever has hung in there and checked in to see if I would surface after a week's pause.

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